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Eighteen-year-old Moira Mitchell grew up in the shadows of Vegas’s stage lights while her father’s career as a magician soared. More than anything, Moira wants to be a magician too, but her father is dead set against her pursuing magic.

When an invitation to join the Cirque American mistakenly falls into Moira’s possession, she takes action. Instead of giving the highly coveted invitation to its intended recipient, Raleigh, her father’s handsome and worldly former apprentice, Moira takes off to join the Cirque. If she can perform alongside its world-famous acts, she knows she’ll be able to convince her dad that magic is her future.

But when Moira arrives, things take on an intensity she can’t control as her stage magic suddenly feels like…real magic. To further distract her, Raleigh shows up none too pleased at Moira’s presence, all while the Cirque’s cocky and intriguing knife thrower, Dez, seems to have it out for her. As tensions mount and Moira’s abilities come into question, she must decide what’s real and what’s an illusion. If she doesn’t sort it out in time, she may forever remain a girl in the shadows.

This is the second book in a series. Read my review of the first book, Girl on a Wire, here.

In a sentence

Girl in the Shadows continues a year after Girl on a Wire with the same level of mystery and rich history that was so enjoyable in the first book.

In Girl on a Wire, we were introduced to the Cirque American and Jules Maroni, a wire walker. In Girl in the Shadows, we return to the Cirque American with Moira Mitchell, daughter of a world-renowned Vegas magician and aspiring magician herself. Banned from entering the profession by her dad, Moira ran away to join the circus and prove herself. Despite a rough start, she was taken in by Nancy Maroni, Jules’ grandmother, who recognised something special in Moira. Moira quickly discovered that the magic she wanted to practice was not so much a trick, and that she was part of something bigger that went back many generations.

Oh, and that damn coin caused problems. Again.

Technically, I received a digital copy of this book for review, but I ended up getting the audiobook on release day because I was enjoying the story so much and had to do a lot of driving recently, so listening to it was the best way for me to keep reading. That should say something. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed both books in this series so far, with their mysteries, intriguing characters and rich worlds. I was once again kept guessing, and while some of my guesses were confirmed, the way in which they came to pass was completely unexpected.

Like Jules, Moira had a stubbornness that I can only imagine is necessary for a life performing. They were both determined to prove themselves and set themselves apart from their famous parents. However, Moira took stubbornness to a new level, resulting in carelessness that put her and others in danger. That being said, she did have to be a little ingenious to think up illusions, so I had to forgive her.

Where Remy had a quiet surety about him, Dez was charm itself. In a way, he was that cocky guy hiding behind bravado that girls often fall for in stories. He had all the lines, and Moira even tried to stay away from him because she recognised his “type”. But he was an actual sweetheart, proven early on by his grand gesture to me, if not necessary to Moira at first. He came a long way, but still had room to grow further past the end of the story, and I loved him for it.

It was hard to figure out who the bad guys were, and even by the end, there was some uncertainty. In fact, I think the story benefited from this, as life isn’t clearly delineated between Good and Bad. Actually, there was one person who was very clearly Evil at the end, and after what he did to someone (that made me freak out a little), I don’t feel at all bad about what happened to him.

One thing that bothered me is the role of Raleigh. I felt like he was almost positioned as a love triangle option, but nothing came of that. It felt like Bond wasn’t sure what to do with him other than the part he played in helping the story along, so she threw in at the beginning that he might be a possibility for Moira.

I mentioned a character possibly being bisexual last time, and she confirmed that she thought she was this time. I really appreciated that she was learning about herself, as while some people know their sexuality pretty easily and quickly, some people take time learning who they are. I also really loved that she was still working through her grief from the tragedy in the previous book.

It’s also worth noting that all of the main characters had very different and very interesting backgrounds. The Garcias were a Latino circus family, the Maronis were European (including Jules’ mom being Russian), and Dez was African American. This rich background was not overly stressed in the story (i.e. forced) but was natural, showing that it can be done. In fact, it added so much to the story itself. Diversity is NORMAL.

Once again, Bond showed how much research she did into the circus world and its history. I adored all the tributes to past performers and magicians, especially the women who worked with little recognition in a predominantly man’s world. (The women were typically shoved to the side as assistants.) These factual tidbits added a realness to the story.

I hope this isn’t the last we see of the Cirque American, as I am definitely impressed with what Bond has built up! This has been an all-round great couple of books so far, and I very seriously recommend them to anyone who has any interest in the circus. (Don’t worry, they’re fairly light on scary clowns!)

3 responses to “#BookReview: GIRL IN THE SHADOWS by Gwenda Bond”

Great review, Dani! I’m still halfway through this book and although I’m liking it I’m not too invested in the story? I still need to read the first one though, so maybe that’s affecting my enjoyment? But you’re right, the research is so well done! And diversity is always such a good thing!

Yes, I definitely think you would have maybe been more invested if you’d read the first book, as then you’d know the existing characters better. For example, you’d know why Thurston admires Nan, and you’d also know why that coin is so special. Plus, Dita is clearly still feeling the effects of what happened in the first book. I don’t know why they said you could read the second book without the first, as while it’s not a direct sequel, you lose so much of the backstory…

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